Ensuring that a composed message is being sent to the appropriate recipient

ABSTRACT

A method, system and computer program product for ensuring that the composed message is being sent to the appropriate recipient. A message being composed by an author is detected. The intended recipient(s) to receive the composed message are identified. The composed message is then analyzed to identify one or more of the following characteristics: a topic, a greeting, a dialect, a conversation pattern and a language pattern. A profile for the intended recipient storing information regarding the characteristics of the recipient (e.g., social group, historical topics discussed, conversation pattern) is obtained. A score is generated based on the consistency between the characteristics of the analyzed message with the characteristics of the recipient obtained from the recipient&#39;s profile. A notification may then be issued to the author if the score is less than a threshold value to ensure that the intended recipient is the correct recipient to receive the composed message.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to communications, and moreparticularly to ensuring that a composed message is being sent to theappropriate recipient.

BACKGROUND

Currently, it is common for a user to have multiple communicationchannels (e.g., e-mail, instant message, social media) open withdifferent participants at the same time on the same computing device.For example, a user may be communicating with two different individualsin two separate instant messaging chat sessions at the same time on theuser's computing device. In another example, a user may be in theprocess of e-mailing a work colleague while at the same posting amessage on the user's social media (e.g., Facebook®) homepage.

As a result, it is not uncommon for a user to accidentally send amessage to an unintended person. For example, a user may accidentallye-mail a message to the user's work colleague that the user intended topost on the user's social media homepage. If the message containedquestionable content, then sending the message to the unintended personcould be embarrassing, disrespectful or even result in the user losinghis/her job. Hence, it is important to ensure that the message is beingsent to the correct person.

Unfortunately, there is not currently a means for ensuring that composedmessages are being sent to the intended recipient.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for ensuring that acomposed message is being sent to an appropriate recipient comprisesdetecting a message being composed by an author using a computingdevice. The method further comprises identifying a recipient to receivethe composed message in response to detecting the message being composedby the author. The method additionally comprises analyzing the composedmessage to identify one or more of the following characteristics of thecomposed message: a topic, a greeting, a dialect, a conversation patternand a language pattern. Furthermore, the method comprises obtaining oneor more of the following characteristics of the recipient from a firstprofile: a name, a language, a location, a gender, an age, an ethnicity,a social group, an expertise, interests, topic affinities for particularusers, a language pattern, historical topics discussed, topic discussedin current conversation thread and a conversation pattern. Additionally,the method comprises generating, by a processor, a score based on aconsistency between the characteristics of the composed message with thecharacteristics of the recipient obtained from the first profile. Inaddition, the method comprises issuing a warning notification to theauthor to ensure that the recipient is a correct recipient to receivethe composed message in response to the score being less than athreshold value.

Other forms of the embodiment of the method described above are in asystem and in a computer program product.

The foregoing has outlined rather generally the features and technicaladvantages of one or more embodiments of the present invention in orderthat the detailed description of the present invention that follows maybe better understood. Additional features and advantages of the presentinvention will be described hereinafter which may form the subject ofthe claims of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description is considered in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a communication system configured in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration of a computing device inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a hardware configuration of a monitoring unit inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for populating profiles of users inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for ensuring that a composed messageis being sent to the appropriate recipient in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a first instant message chat session with John Doe inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a second instant message chat session with StevenJohnson, where the user is actively posting messages in both the firstand second instant message chat sessions at the same time in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates the user selecting the incorrect recipient to receivea composed e-mail message in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention comprises a method, system and computer programproduct for ensuring that the composed message is being sent to theappropriate recipient. In one embodiment of the present invention, amessage (e.g., instant message, e-mail message, social media post) beingcomposed by an author is detected. The intended recipient(s) to receivethe composed message are identified. The composed message is thenanalyzed to identify one or more of the following characteristics: atopic, a greeting, a dialect, a conversation pattern and a languagepattern. A profile for the intended recipient storing informationregarding the characteristics of the recipient is obtained. For example,a profile may store both static information (e.g., name, language,location, gender, age, ethnicity, social group, expertise, interest) anddynamic information (e.g., topic affinities, language pattern,historical topics discussed, topic discussed in current conversationthread, conversation pattern) which are used to identify thecharacteristics of the recipient. A score is generated based on theconsistency between the characteristics of the analyzed message with thecharacteristics of the recipient obtained from the recipient's profile.A notification may then be issued to the author if the score is lessthan a threshold value to ensure that the intended recipient is thecorrect recipient to receive the composed message. In this manner, sucha notification may prevent the author from sending a message to anunintended person thereby preventing a potentially embarrassingsituation.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without such specific details. In other instances,well-known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order notto obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. For the mostpart, details considering timing considerations and the like have beenomitted inasmuch as such details are not necessary to obtain a completeunderstanding of the present invention and are within the skills ofpersons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

Referring now to the Figures in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates acommunication system 100 for practicing the principles of the presentinvention in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.Communication system 100 includes computing devices 101A-101C(identified as “Computing Device A,” “Computing Device B,” and“Computing Device C,” respectively, in FIG. 1) connected to a server 102via a network 103. Computing devices 101A-101C may collectively orindividually be referred to as computing devices 101 or computing device101, respectively.

Computing device 101 may be any type of computing device (e.g., portablecomputing unit, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), smartphone, laptopcomputer, mobile phone, navigation device, game console, desktopcomputer system, workstation, Internet appliance and the like)configured with the capability of connecting to network 103 andconsequently communicating with other computing devices 101 and server102.

Computing devices 101 may be configured to send and receive text-basedmessages in real-time during an instant messaging session. Any user ofcomputing devices 101 may be the creator or initiator of an instantmessage (message in instant messaging) and any user of computing devices101 may be a recipient of an instant message. Furthermore, any user ofcomputing devices 101 may be able to create, receive and send e-mails.Additionally, any user of computing devices 101 may be able to send andreceive text messages, such as Short Message Services (SMS) messages.The term “messages,” as used herein, encompasses each of these types ofmessages as well as posts to social media websites, such as Facebook®,forums, wikis, etc.

Network 103 may be, for example, a local area network, a wide areanetwork, a wireless wide area network, a circuit-switched telephonenetwork, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network,Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) network, a WiFi network, an IEEE802.11 standards network, various combinations thereof, etc. Othernetworks, whose descriptions are omitted here for brevity, may also beused in conjunction with system 100 of FIG. 1 without departing from thescope of the present invention.

In communication system 100, computing devices 101A-101C include asoftware agent, referred to herein as an Instant Messaging (IM) client104A-104C, respectively. Instant messaging clients 104A-104C maycollectively or individually be referred to as instant messaging clients104 or instant messaging client 104, respectively. Furthermore, server102 includes a software agent, referred to herein as the InstantMessaging (IM) server 105. IM client 104 provides the functionality tosend and receive instant messages. As messages are received, IM client104 presents the messages to the user in a dialog window (or IM window).Furthermore, IM client 104 provides the functionality for computingdevice 101 to connect to the IM server 105 which provides thefunctionality of distributing the instant messages to the IM clients 104associated with each of the sharing users.

Computing device 101A-101C may further include a software agent,referred to herein as an e-mail client agent 106A-106C, respectively.E-mail client agents 106A-106C may collectively or individually bereferred to as e-mail client agents 106 or e-mail client agent 106,respectively. Furthermore, server 102 may include a software agent,referred to herein as the e-mail server agent 107. E-mail client agent106 enables the user of computing device 101 to create, send and receivee-mails. E-mail server agent 107 is configured to receive e-mailmessages from computing device 101 and distribute the received e-mailmessages among the one or more computing devices 101.

Furthermore, computing devices 101A-101C may include a software agent,referred to herein as the “analysis engine” 108A-108C, respectively,configured to ensure that a composed message is being sent to theappropriate recipient, where a “composed message,” as used herein,refers to any of the messages discussed above (e.g., e-mail message,instant message, text message) as well as posts to social mediawebsites, such as Facebook®, forums, wikis, etc. A description of thehardware configuration of computing device 101 is provided below inconnection with FIG. 2.

While the preceding discusses each computing device 101 as including anIM client 104, an e-mail client agent 106 and an analysis engine 108,each computing device 101 may not necessarily include each of thesesoftware agents. Furthermore, while the preceding discusses a singleserver 102 including the software agents, such as IM server 105 ande-mail server agent 107, multiple servers may be used to implement theseservices. Furthermore, each server 102 may not necessarily be configuredto include all of these software agents, but only a subset of thesesoftware agents.

System 100 further includes a Short Message Service (SMC) center 109configured to relay, store and forward text messages, such as SMSmessages, among computing devices 101 through network 103.

System 100 further includes a social network server 110, which may be aweb server configured to offer a social networking and/or microbloggingservice, enabling users of computing devices 101 to send and read otherusers' posts. “Posts,” as used herein, include any one or more of thefollowing: text (e.g., comments, sub-comments and replies), audio, videoimages, etc. Social network server 110 is connected to network 103 bywire or wirelessly. While FIG. 1 illustrates a single social networkserver 110, it is noted for clarity that multiple servers may be used toimplement the social networking and/or microblogging service.

System 100 further includes a monitoring unit 111 connected to network103 via wire or wirelessly. Monitoring unit 111 is configured to monitormessages sent/posted among the users of computing devices 101 andextracting characteristics of these monitored messages using naturallanguage processing. Such characteristics may include topic affinitiesfor the user, the language pattern of the user, the historical topicdiscussed by the user, the topic discussed in the current conversationthread, the conversation pattern of the user, etc.

A “topic affinity,” refers to a subject that the user repeatedlydiscusses in the user's messages. For example, monitoring unit 111 mayutilize natural language processing to identify the topic affinity for auser based on identifying the repeated use of a keyword (e.g., DetroitTigers® baseball team) in the user's messages.

A “language pattern” refers to the pattern of language utilized by theuser for certain recipients. For example, monitoring unit 111 mayutilize natural language processing to identify a language pattern ofthe user in the user's messages. For instance, a user with a Chineseethnicity may always use a foreign greeting (e.g., Chinese greeting) inthe user's messages when greeting users with the same culturalbackground.

A “historical topic” discussed by the user refers to a topic (mainsubject) discussed in the user's previously sent messages. For example,monitoring unit 111 may utilize natural language processing to identifythe historical topic discussed by the user in the user's previously sentmessages. For instance, monitoring unit 111 may identify the historictopic discussed by the user by identifying keywords (e.g., “travel,”“birthday party”) in the previous conversation thread.

Similarly, monitoring unit 111 may utilize natural language processingto identify the topic of the current conversation thread.

A “conversation pattern” refers to the conversation tone of the message,use of abbreviations by the user in the message, the formality of thewords utilized by the user in the message and the use of emotion wordsby the user in the message. In one embodiment, the conversation patternis identified in the message using natural language processing. Forexample, the user may utilize a more informal tone in an e-mail to apersonal friend than in comparison to an e-mail to the user's boss. Adescription of the hardware configuration of monitoring unit 111 isprovided below in connection with FIG. 3.

Such characteristics may be stored in profiles which are stored in adatabase 112 connected to monitoring unit 111. Such profiles may includestatic information (e.g., name, language, location, gender, age,ethnicity, social group, expertise, interest) as well as dynamicinformation (e.g., topic affinities, language pattern, historical topicsdiscussed, topic discussed in current conversation thread, conversationpattern). In one embodiment, the static information may be provided bythe user. In another embodiment, monitoring unit 111 may obtain thestatic information about the user from social media sources. Forinstance, the user may indicate such information (e.g., name, language,location, gender, age, ethnicity, social group, expertise, interest,etc.) on the user's social media homepage.

System 100 is not to be limited in scope to any one particular networkarchitecture. System 100 may include any number of computing devices101, servers 102, networks 103, SMS centers 109, social network servers110, monitoring units 111 and databases 112.

Referring now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration ofcomputing device 101 (FIG. 1) which is representative of a hardwareenvironment for practicing the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2,computing device 101 has a processor 201 coupled to various othercomponents by system bus 202. An operating system 203 runs on processor201 and provides control and coordinates the functions of the variouscomponents of FIG. 2. An application 204 in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention runs in conjunction with operatingsystem 203 and provides calls to operating system 203 where the callsimplement the various functions or services to be performed byapplication 204. Application 204 may include, for example, analysisengine 108 for ensuring that a composed message is being sent to theappropriate recipient as discussed further below in connection withFIGS. 5-8.

Referring again to FIG. 2, read-only memory (“ROM”) 205 is coupled tosystem bus 202 and includes a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) thatcontrols certain basic functions of computing device 101. Random accessmemory (“RAM”) 206 and disk adapter 207 are also coupled to system bus202. It should be noted that software components including operatingsystem 203 and application 204 may be loaded into RAM 206, which may becomputing device's 101 main memory for execution. Disk adapter 207 maybe an integrated drive electronics (“IDE”) adapter that communicateswith a disk unit 208, e.g., disk drive.

Computing device 101 may further include a communications adapter 209coupled to bus 202. Communications adapter 209 interconnects bus 202with an outside network thereby enabling computing device 101 tocommunicate with other devices (e.g., other computing devices 101,server 102, SMS center 109, social network server 110).

I/O devices may also be connected to computing device 101 via a userinterface adapter 210 and a display adapter 211. Keyboard 212, mouse 213and speaker 214 may all be interconnected to bus 202 through userinterface adapter 210. A display monitor 215 may be connected to systembus 202 by display adapter 211. In this manner, a user is capable ofinputting to computing device 101 through keyboard 212 or mouse 213 andreceiving output from computing device 101 via display 215 or speaker214. Other input mechanisms may be used to input data to computingdevice 101 that are not shown in FIG. 2, such as display 215 havingtouch-screen capability and keyboard 212 being a virtual keyboard.Computing device 101 of FIG. 2 is not to be limited in scope to theelements depicted in FIG. 2 and may include fewer or additional elementsthan depicted in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 illustrates a hardware configuration ofmonitoring unit 111 (FIG. 1) which is representative of a hardwareenvironment for practicing the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3,monitoring unit 111 has a processor 301 coupled to various othercomponents by system bus 302. An operating system 303 runs on processor301 and provides control and coordinates the functions of the variouscomponents of FIG. 3. An application 304 in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention runs in conjunction with operatingsystem 303 and provides calls to operating system 303 where the callsimplement the various functions or services to be performed byapplication 304. Application 304 may include, for example, a program formonitoring the messages sent/posted among the users of computing devices101 and extracting characteristics of these monitored messages asdiscussed further below in connection with FIG. 4.

Referring again to FIG. 3, read-only memory (“ROM”) 305 is coupled tosystem bus 302 and includes a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) thatcontrols certain basic functions of monitoring unit 111. Random accessmemory (“RAM”) 306 and disk adapter 307 are also coupled to system bus302. It should be noted that software components including operatingsystem 303 and application 304 may be loaded into RAM 306, which may bemonitoring unit's 111 main memory for execution. Disk adapter 307 may bean integrated drive electronics (“IDE”) adapter that communicates with adisk unit 308, e.g., disk drive. It is noted that the program formonitoring the messages sent/posted among the users of computing devices101 and extracting characteristics of these monitored messages, asdiscussed further below in connection with FIG. 4, may reside in diskunit 308 or in application 304.

Monitoring unit 111 may further include a communications adapter 309coupled to bus 302. Communications adapter 309 interconnects bus 302with an outside network (network 103 of FIG. 1) thereby enablingmonitoring unit 111 to communicate with other devices, such as computingdevices 101, server 102, SMS center 109, social network sever 110, etc.of FIG. 1.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

As stated in the Background section, currently, it is common for a userto have multiple communication channels (e.g., e-mail, instant message,social media) open with different participants at the same time on thesame computing device. For example, a user may be communicating with twodifferent individuals in two separate instant messaging chat sessions atthe same time on the user's computing device. In another example, a usermay be in the process of e-mailing a work colleague while at the sameposting a message on the user's social media (e.g., Facebook®) homepage.As a result, it is not uncommon for a user to accidentally send amessage to an unintended person. For example, a user may accidentallye-mail a message to the user's work colleague that the user intended topost on the user's social media homepage. If the message containedquestionable content, then sending the message to the unintended personcould be embarrassing, disrespectful or even result in the user losinghis/her job. Hence, it is important to ensure that the message is beingsent to the correct person. Unfortunately, there is not currently ameans for ensuring that composed messages are being sent to the intendedrecipient.

The principles of the present invention provide a means for ensuringthat the composed messages are being sent to the intended recipient asdiscussed below in connection with FIGS. 4-8. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of amethod for populating profiles of users, which could be the authors ofcomposed messages and/or the recipients of these composed messages. FIG.5 is a flowchart of a method for ensuring that a composed message isbeing sent to the appropriate recipient. FIG. 6 illustrates a firstinstant message chat session with John Doe. FIG. 7 illustrates a secondinstant message chat session with Steven Johnson, where the user isactively posting messages in both the first and second instant messagechat sessions at the same time. FIG. 8 illustrates the user selectingthe incorrect recipient to receive a composed e-mail message.

As stated above, FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 for populatingprofiles of users, which could be the authors of composed messagesand/or the recipients of these composed messages in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-2, in step 401,monitoring unit 111 monitors the messages (e.g., e-mail messages,instant messages, text messages, social media posts) sent by the usersof computing devices 101 across multiple communication channels. Forexample, monitoring unit 111 monitors the messages posted by the user ofcomputing device 101A on a social media website.

In step 402, monitoring unit 111 extracts the characteristics (e.g.,topic affinities for the user, the language pattern of the user, thehistorical topic discussed by the user, the topic discussed in thecurrent conversation thread, the conversation pattern of the user) ofthese monitored messages to be placed in a profile for that user (i.e.,the user that sent those messages). In one embodiment, as discussedabove, monitoring unit 111 extracts these characteristics from themonitored messages using natural language processing. Furthermore, asdiscussed above, in addition to these profiles storing such dynamicinformation, such profiles may also store static information (e.g.,name, language, location, gender, age, ethnicity, social group,expertise, interest) about the user. In one embodiment, the staticinformation may be provided by the user. In another embodiment,monitoring unit 111 may obtain the static information about the userfrom social media sources. For instance, the user may indicate suchinformation (e.g., name, language, location, gender, age, ethnicity,social group, expertise, interest, etc.) on the user's social mediahomepage.

After populating profiles of users containing static and dynamicinformation described above, such information may be used to ensure thata composed message is being sent to an appropriate recipient asdiscussed below in connection with FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method 500 for ensuring that a composedmessage is being sent to the appropriate recipient in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-4, in step 501,analysis engine 108 detects a message (e.g., instant message, e-mailmessage, text message, social media post) being composed by an author(e.g., user of computing device 101). For example, analysis engine 108detects an e-mail message being composed by the user of computing device101 by detecting the user entering words in the body of the e-mailmessage. In another example, analysis engine 108 detects an instantmessage being composed by the user of computing device 101 by detectingthe user entering words in the instant message chat session window. In afurther example, analysis engine 108 detects a social media messagebeing composed by the user of computing device 101 by detecting the userentering words in the social networking feed.

In step 502, analysis engine 108 identifies a recipient(s) to receivethe composed message. For example, the user of computing device 101A maycreate a message to be sent to the users of computing devices 101B,101C. Analysis engine 108 would then identify those users as theintended recipients to receive the message. For instance, analysisengine 108 may identify those users as the intended recipients toreceive the message based on the user entering those users in the “TO:”field.

In step 503, analysis engine 108 analyzes the composed message toidentify one or more of the following characteristics: a topic, agreeting, a dialect, a conversation pattern and a language pattern. A“topic” refers to the main subject of the message. In one embodiment,the topic of the composed message may be identified by identifyingkeywords (e.g., “travel,” “meeting,” “birthday party”) in the messageusing natural language processing. A “greeting” refers to the salutationor expression of good wishes (e.g., “Hi Joe!”). In one embodiment, agreeting in the composed message may be identified based on identifyingkeywords (e.g., “Hi”) in the message using natural language processing.A “dialect” refers to the form of a language that is spoken in aparticular area and that uses some of its own words, grammar, andpronunciations. For example, an individual from one part of the UnitedStates may use the term “pop” to reference soda; whereas, an individualfrom another part of the United States may use the term “coke” toreference soda. A “dialect” in the composed message may be identifiedbased on identifying certain words (e.g., “pop”) used by the user in themessage using natural language processing. A “conversation pattern”refers to the conversation tone of the message, use of abbreviations bythe author in the message, the formality of the words utilized by theauthor in the message and the use of emotion words by the author in themessage. In one embodiment, the conversation pattern is identified inthe composed message using natural language processing. A “languagepattern” refers to the pattern of language utilized by the author forcertain recipients. For example, the author with a Chinese ethnicity mayuse a Chinese greeting for recipients who also have a Chinese ethnicity.In one embodiment, the language pattern is identified in the composedmessage using natural language processing.

In step 504, analysis engine 108 obtains the profile for the identifiedrecipient storing information regarding the characteristics of therecipient. For example, as discussed above, the profile stores bothstatic information (e.g., name, language, location, gender, age,ethnicity, social group, expertise, interest) as well as dynamicinformation (e.g., topic affinities, language pattern, historical topicsdiscussed, topic discussed in current conversation thread, conversationpattern). The static and dynamic information stored in the profile areused to determine the characteristics of the recipient. If more than onerecipient is identified in step 502 to receive the composed message,then analysis engine 108 obtains the profiles for the other recipientsand performs the same analysis for each of the recipients as discussedherein.

Optionally, in step 505, analysis engine 108 obtains the profile of theauthor of the composed message (e.g., user of computing device 101A)storing information regarding the characteristics of the author. Forexample, as discussed above, such a profile stores both the staticinformation (e.g., name, language, location, gender, age, ethnicity,social group, expertise, interest) as well as the dynamic information(e.g., topic affinities, language pattern, historical topics discussed,topics discussed in current conversation threads with particular users,conversation pattern) that are used to identify the characteristics ofthe author.

In step 506, analysis engine 108 generates a score based on theconsistency between the characteristics of the analyzed message with thecharacteristics of the recipient obtained from the recipient's profileand/or the characteristics of the author obtained from the author'sprofile. For example, if the topic of the composed message is directedto playing baseball, but the topic discussed in the current conversationthread with the recipient is directed to the meeting tomorrow morning,then analysis engine 108 may generate a low score as suchcharacteristics (characteristic of the composed message having a topicdirected to playing baseball and the characteristic of the recipienthaving a topic directed to a meeting tomorrow morning in the currentconversation thread) seem to be inconsistent. In another example, if theauthor is using the pronoun of “Mr.” in the greeting of the composedmessage, but the recipient is a female, then analysis engine 108 maygenerate a low score as such characteristics seem to be inconsistent.The greater the consistency between the characteristics of the analyzedmessage with the characteristics of the recipient obtained from therecipient's profile and/or the characteristics of the author obtainedfrom the author's profile, the greater the score.

In step 507, a determination is made by analysis engine 108 as towhether the score is less than a threshold value.

If the score is less than a threshold value, then, in step 508, analysisengine 108 issues a notification to the author to ensure that theindicated recipient is the correct recipient to receive the composedmessage. In this manner, such a notification may prevent the author fromsending a message to an unintended person thereby preventing apotentially embarrassing situation. For example, analysis engine 108 mayissue a warning notification indicating that the indicated recipient maynot be the appropriate recipient and to make sure that the author doesindeed want to send this message to the indicated recipient as discussedbelow in connection with FIGS. 6-8.

FIG. 6 illustrates a first instant message chat session 600 with JohnDoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7illustrates a second instant message chat session 700 with StevenJohnson, where the user is actively posting messages in both the firstand second instant message chat sessions 600, 700 at the same time, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the author is currently posting messages inthe instant message chat sessions 600, 700 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Asillustrated in FIG. 6, the author (Peter Smith) is discussing aboutmeeting John Doe at a sports bar. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the author(Peter Smith) is discussing the status of the current project with hisboss, Steven Johnson. As shown in FIG. 7, the author (Peter Smith) isresponding to the statement made by John Doe regarding wings in instantmessage chat session 600 (“All u can eat wings on Saturday!! Plus dollardrafts!”) in the instant message chat session window 701. Analysisengine 108 detects the conversational tone of the message in the instantmessage chat session window 701 which is casual (identifies the term “u”being used for “you” using natural language processing). Furthermore,analysis engine 108 detects that the topic of the message in the instantmessage chat session window 701 is regarding wings using naturallanguage processing. Additionally, analysis engine 108 obtains thecharacteristics of the recipient (Steven Johnson) from the recipient'sprofile that includes information, such as the topic currently beingdiscussed in the current conversation thread (status of the currentproject). Furthermore, analysis engine 108 may obtain thecharacteristics of the author (Peter Smith) from the author's profilethat includes information, such as the conversation tone typically usedin conversations with Steven Johnson (e.g., a formal conversation toneis typically used since Steven Johnson is Peter Smith's boss). Thecasual tone and topic of the composed message in the instant messagechat session window 701 is not consistent with the topic currently beingdiscussed in the current conversation thread with Steven Johnson (statusof the current project) and neither is the conversation tone appropriatefor a conversation with a boss. As a result, analysis engine 108 maygenerate a low score due to the inconsistency between thecharacteristics of the analyzed message with the characteristics of therecipient and author obtained from the recipient's and author'sprofiles. Analysis engine 108 may then issue a warning notification toPeter Smith indicating that the indicated recipient (Steven Johnson) maynot be the appropriate recipient and to make sure that the author (PeterSmith) does indeed want to send this message (message shown in window701) to the indicated recipient (Steven Johnson). In this manner, such anotification may prevent Peter from sending this message to theunintended person thereby preventing a potentially embarrassingsituation.

Another example of the principles of the present invention preventing apotentially embarrassing situation is discussed below in connection withFIG. 8.

FIG. 8 illustrates the user selecting the incorrect recipient to receivea composed e-mail message in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, FIG. 8 illustrates the author (Peter Smith)composing an e-mail message 801 in an e-mail application 800. The author(Peter Smith) selects the recipient identified as Hermanth Kumar8/ABC(hemanth_sr@abc.com) to receive the composed message. Analysis engine108 analyzes the composed e-mail message 801 to identify thecharacteristics of the message, such as the topic, which is directed tothe topic of Chef Watson. Furthermore, analysis engine 108 obtains theprofile of the indicated recipient (Hermanth Kumar8) to identify thecharacteristics of the intended recipient, such as having no priorhistory of discussion of the topic of Chef Watson with any other user.As a result, analysis engine 108 may generate a score that is below athreshold value thereby issuing a notification 802 indicating thatHermanth Kumar8 may not be the correct person to contact about the topicof Chef Watson and to make sure that the author (Peter Smith) doesindeed want to send this message to Hermanth Kumar8. In this manner,such a notification may prevent Peter from sending this message to theunintended person thereby preventing a potentially embarrassingsituation.

Returning to FIG. 5, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-4 and 6-8, if the scoregenerated in step 506 is not less than the threshold value, then, instep 509, analysis engine 108 allows the message to be sent to theindicated recipient without issuing a notification (e.g., warning) toconfirm that the author really wants to send this message to theindicated recipient.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for ensuring that a composedmessage is being sent to an appropriate recipient, the methodcomprising: detecting a message being composed by an author using acomputing device; identifying a recipient to receive said composedmessage in response to detecting said message being composed by saidauthor; analyzing said composed message to identify the followingcharacteristics of said composed message: a topic, a greeting, adialect, a conversation pattern and a language pattern, wherein saidconversation pattern comprises one or more of the following: aconversation tone, use of abbreviations, formality of words and use ofemotion words, wherein said language pattern refers to a pattern oflanguage utilized by said author for certain recipients; obtaining fiveor more of the following characteristics of said recipient from a firstprofile: a name, a language, a location, a gender, an age, an ethnicity,a social group, an expertise, interests, topic affinities for particularusers, a language pattern, historical topics discussed, topic discussedin current conversation thread and a conversation pattern; obtainingcharacteristics of said author from a second profile; generating, by aprocessor, a score based on a consistency between said characteristicsof said composed message with said characteristics of said recipientobtained from said first profile and said characteristics of said authorobtained from said second profile; and issuing a warning notification tosaid author to ensure that said recipient is a correct recipient toreceive said composed message in response to said score being less thana threshold value.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1 furthercomprising: permitting said composed message to be sent to saidrecipient without issuing said warning notification to said author inresponse to said score not being less than said threshold value.
 3. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein said message is detected as beingcomposed by said author by detecting said author entering words in oneof the following: a body of an e-mail message, an instant message chatsession window and a social networking feed.
 4. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein said characteristics of said composed message areidentified using natural language processing.
 5. The method as recitedin claim 1, wherein said first profile is populated with saidcharacteristics of said recipient by monitoring messages composed bysaid recipient across multiple communication channels and extractingcharacteristics of said monitored messages comprising one or more of thefollowing: said topic affinities for particular users, said languagepattern, said historical topics discussed, said topic discussed incurrent conversation thread and said conversation pattern.
 6. The methodas recited in claim 5, wherein said characteristics of said monitoredmessages are extracted using natural language processing.
 7. A computerprogram product for ensuring that a composed message is being sent to anappropriate recipient, the computer program product comprising acomputer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith,the program code comprising the programming instructions for: detectinga message being composed by an author using a computing device;identifying a recipient to receive said composed message in response todetecting said message being composed by said author; analyzing saidcomposed message to identify the following characteristics of saidcomposed message: a topic, a greeting, a dialect, a conversation patternand a language pattern, wherein said conversation pattern comprises oneor more of the following: a conversation tone, use of abbreviations,formality of words and use of emotion words, wherein said languagepattern refers to a pattern of language utilized by said author forcertain recipients; obtaining five or more of the followingcharacteristics of said recipient from a first profile: a name, alanguage, a location, a gender, an age, an ethnicity, a social group, anexpertise, interests, topic affinities for particular users, a languagepattern, historical topics discussed, topic discussed in currentconversation thread and a conversation pattern; obtainingcharacteristics of said author from a second profile; generating a scorebased on a consistency between said characteristics of said composedmessage with said characteristics of said recipient obtained from saidfirst profile and said characteristics of said author obtained from saidsecond profile; and issuing a warning notification to said author toensure that said recipient is a correct recipient to receive saidcomposed message in response to said score being less than a thresholdvalue.
 8. The computer program product as recited in claim 7, whereinthe program code further comprises the programming instructions for:permitting said composed message to be sent to said recipient withoutissuing said warning notification to said author in response to saidscore not being less than said threshold value.
 9. The computer programproduct as recited in claim 7, wherein said message is detected as beingcomposed by said author by detecting said author entering words in oneof the following: a body of an e-mail message, an instant message chatsession window and a social networking feed.
 10. The computer programproduct as recited in claim 7, wherein said characteristics of saidcomposed message are identified using natural language processing. 11.The computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein said firstprofile is populated with said characteristics of said recipient bymonitoring messages composed by said recipient across multiplecommunication channels and extracting characteristics of said monitoredmessages comprising one or more of the following: said topic affinitiesfor particular users, said language pattern, said historical topicsdiscussed, said topic discussed in current conversation thread and saidconversation pattern.
 12. The computer program product as recited inclaim 11, wherein said characteristics of said monitored messages areextracted using natural language processing.
 13. A system, comprising: amemory unit for storing a computer program for ensuring that a composedmessage is being sent to an appropriate recipient; and a processorcoupled to the memory unit, wherein the processor is configured toexecute the program instructions of the computer program comprising:detecting a message being composed by an author using a computingdevice; identifying a recipient to receive said composed message inresponse to detecting said message being composed by said author;analyzing said composed message to identify the followingcharacteristics of said composed message: a topic, a greeting, adialect, a conversation pattern and a language pattern, wherein saidconversation pattern comprises one or more of the following: aconversation tone, use of abbreviations, formality of words and use ofemotion words, wherein said language pattern refers to a pattern oflanguage utilized by said author for certain recipients; obtaining fiveor more of the following characteristics of said recipient from a firstprofile: a name, a language, a location, a gender, an age, an ethnicity,a social group, an expertise, interests, topic affinities for particularusers, a language pattern, historical topics discussed, topic discussedin current conversation thread and a conversation pattern; obtainingcharacteristics of said author from a second profile; generating a scorebased on a consistency between said characteristics of said composedmessage with said characteristics of said recipient obtained from saidfirst profile and said characteristics of said author obtained from saidsecond profile; and issuing a warning notification to said author toensure that said recipient is a correct recipient to receive saidcomposed message in response to said score being less than a thresholdvalue.
 14. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein the programinstructions of the computer program further comprise: permitting saidcomposed message to be sent to said recipient without issuing saidwarning notification to said author in response to said score not beingless than said threshold value.
 15. The system as recited in claim 13,wherein said first profile is populated with said characteristics ofsaid recipient by monitoring messages composed by said recipient acrossmultiple communication channels and extracting characteristics of saidmonitored messages comprising one or more of the following: said topicaffinities for particular users, said language pattern, said historicaltopics discussed, said topic discussed in current conversation threadand said conversation pattern.
 16. The system as recited in claim 13,wherein said message is detected as being composed by said author bydetecting said author entering words in one of the following: a body ofan e-mail message, an instant message chat session window and a socialnetworking feed.
 17. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein saidcharacteristics of said composed message are identified using naturallanguage processing.